Indiana high court warns Richmond attorney

The Indiana Supreme Court has threatened sanctions against Richmond attorney E. Thomas Kemp for his refusal to cooperate with an apparent investigation being conducted by the court's Disciplinary Commission.

The court this week gave Kemp 10 days to explain why he has failed to cooperate with the commission's investigation into grievances filed against him.

Kemp, who formerly worked in private practice with an office at 134 S. Eighth St. in Richmond, worked in the Wayne County Public Defender's office from July 2013 until he resigned July 15 of this year.

The supreme court order threatens to suspend Kemp's license to practice law in Indiana. Kemp's license was suspended in June for his failure to meet ongoing educational requirements.

It was not clear Thursday what other sanctions the court could take against Kemp if he fails to respond to its latest order. Records of disciplinary investigations are not open to the public.

One local resident who has complained to the supreme court's disciplinary commission about Kemp is David Butler, who lives near Liberty, Ind. Butler said he paid Kemp $1,000 to "finish a divorce" in 2012 and did not receive legal service from him.

"I didn't get anything from him, not one thing did he do for me," Butler said Thursday. "It's aggravating. To me $1,000 is a lot of money. When something like this happens, man, it just takes the wind out of your sails."

Tammy Russell of Richmond hired Kemp in April 2011 and over several years paid him $7,100 to represent her in a divorce.

"He was at one day-long court hearing and one mediation session. Otherwise he did nothing," she said. "All we had were delays, delays, delays. I wasn't divorced until April of this year and I didn't even know it. The court called me and told me."

She filed a complaint with the supreme court in May.

"I thought I had a guy who would help me," she said. "I'm still really upset over it."

Don Rader hired Kemp in early 2013 to handle his father's estate after his death. Over 18 months Rader said he found that Kemp failed to pay most of his father's debtors. After months of trying to contact Kemp, Rader hired another attorney to take over the estate.

"(Kemp) was unreachable for months. He dropped the ball," Rader said. "It's kind of over now because (Kemp) turned over the case file. But we're still looking into what was paid and what happened to the money."

Rader said he has talked to the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office and a Richmond Police detective about his dealings with Kemp.

The disciplinary commission has been after Kemp for an explanation for months. In an Aug. 22 supreme court filing, commission attorney G. Michael Witte said a letter was sent to Kemp on May 23 demanding a written response to complaints.

Kemp did not respond, according to the filing, and attempts by the Palladium-Item to contact him Thursday were unsuccessful.

A second notice was sent July 1 to Kemp's Eighth Street office. That notice was returned as undeliverable. Another notice sent to a post office box in Richmond was returned unclaimed.

The court also can order reimbursement of all disciplinary commission costs and expenses.